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Post by jon hynes on Sept 29, 2008 17:12:23 GMT -5
 Dick and I would go here and play on Sundays. Yodeling and everything. 'I Remember You' |
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 29, 2008 17:23:32 GMT -5
Who is This Guy ? Where did he go? Still sitting on the roof of the Truck I'll Bet  |
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 29, 2008 21:52:20 GMT -5
 - The Old Hathaway Bakery- |
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 29, 2008 22:16:35 GMT -5
"The Merseyside 5"?? Were they really Brits or from Frankfort?
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:44:30 GMT -5
Hullabaloo Scores A Hit - Despite Din - By Dick Costa
Know a formula for keeping 800 to 1,000 teanagers off the street and out of trouble on any given night in Utica.
Here's one that worked here last Thursday:
(a) Provide a large enough place - say 5,000 square feet - that teenagers can call their own and respect.
(b) Give them the music they like - rock 'n' roll can be replaced, but nobody is doing it.
(c) Let them wear casual dress: sports slacks, but not cultist outfits.
One night doesn't make a year, but to this reporter who tried to be as objective as a 45 year old fellow who always waited for the "slow numbers" can be, the returns on Utica's opening of the "Hullabaloo Scene" are these.
* * *
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:47:19 GMT -5
WHETHER DANCING, girl watching, or merely standing around watching the musicians and the famed Hullabaloo TV Dancers, the kids enjoyed themselves until . . .
(a) The late August heat in the non-air-conditioned premises at 1305 Conkling Ave. (once the Hathaway Bakery) simply became too much.
(b) The novelty wore off and the din (no slow or quiet numbers) became as oppressive as the heat.
(c) They realized the big name dancers only danced a total of 30 minutes in an evening that stretched from 7:30 to midnight.
* * *
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:50:33 GMT -5
FOR NEARLY TWO HOURS, the turn-away crowd bore out Hullabaloo Impressario John Angel's words.
"What we've bought to Utica and a score of other cities in the NorthEast is a return of old-fashioned dance halls. Young people want to dance, and there is no place to go."
Girls like Charleen Mesagna (1532 Brinkerhoff Ave.) and Linda Nowlin (1504 Howard Ave.) came only to dance and they never sat out a number.
The same went for Debbie Coleman (1412 Dudley Ave.) Jimmy Yaghy, 412 Lansing St. and Noreen E. Beighley, 718 Court St.
These youngsters, and many others, are regulars at WKTV's Sunday "Twist-A-Rama," and they were doing what comes naturally although, this time, off camera.
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:53:44 GMT -5
AN EXUBERANT young fellow named Frank Conte described the impact of Hullabaloo Scene on Utica teens with a wave of his hand and an exclamation "Groovy, - Greatest thing Utica's ever had!"
One is never aware of wallflowers - male or female - at Hullabaloo because the sounds are too deafening and the nights too distracting to notice if anyone ISN'T dancing. However, a trio from West Utica - Greg Penree, Mike Mahoney, and Bob Jones - seemed three among many who were "standing out" most numbers.
Four Utica police officers, dressed in plain clothes stationed themselves around the hall, but agreed there was not the resemblance of an incident.
"We could use seven or eight instead of four, with a crowd this large, but the kids were no trouble at all tonight." said patrolman James McMann.
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:56:34 GMT -5
HIS SUMUP of the musical fare was less enthusiastic:
"With me, it's Sinatra and Ella Fils. I can't make out one word of the lyrics."
This reporter was equally hard of hearing. Unable to catch the lyrics of a real swinger imperfectly titled for the hot night - "Cool Jerk" the reporter questioned Joan Blair, 7 Dewitt, who declared that "words are getting more important in numbers these days, and every kid in this place knows them."
The dance hall decor is a reasonable facsimile of the well-known Teenage TV show of which it has been named.
For the benefit of those who are not YAD'S - a term for "young adults" and one used in advertisements for the show - a singing musical combo - in this case, the Windjammers writhes and shakes up on a stage that seems always on the point of collapse under their assault.
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 1:59:32 GMT -5
OVER THE STAGE is a constellation of lights blinking like a carnival marquee. The Hullabaloo Dancers - two beautiful blondes, Michele Reilf, 19 and Peggy Spinelli. 18, both of New York City - soon appear for one of three sets. They are introduced frantically by Hank Brown of Utica's Twist-A-Rama show.
The girls are fetchingly dressed in white sweaters and short skirts and wear "Go-Go Boots." Young in years, they are vetern in their art, each having studied dancing 13 years.
They will start their third year with the TV show this Fall, and are traveling this summer with John Angel as he opens one after another of the Hullabaloo Scenes.
Angel a 40-year-old Connecticut man, spoke in a fire exit way - only place where conversation was possible.
"We've had fabulous results with the opening." he said.
"Town officials and ministers praise us wherever we go. Anyone causing trouble is barred for 90 days. We have strict rules and leave it up to the kids to govern themselves or they're out."
* * *
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 2:02:37 GMT -5
ALCOHOL is prohibited to club and parking area, and return tickets aren't given if one goes out. This worked a hardship on youngsters desiring fresh air.
A turn-away group of several hundred waited frustratingly for youngsters to leave so they might be admitted. Few left, few late-comers got in.
"Each building has it's own city-mandated safety rules, and no crowd is allowed to violate them." Angel said.
After opening night, Hullabaloo Scene will be headed by local talent. Once school starts, Thursday nights will be eliminated. Co-producers are two Rome men; Marc Didlo and Fred Norman.
LONE DISSENTING voices Thursday night were those of a neighborhood group of elderly men. One spoke for all:
"This was a good neighborhood - until now. With these kids making all that noise, who'd ever want to buy in here now?"
As he spoke, a young man of about 30 identified himself as John Torchia of Rochester. He said he was "scouting" Utica's Hullabaloo opening.
We'll open in Rochester in about five weeks," he said. "Isn't it fabulous? Ought to make a big killing everywhere."
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Post by dgriffin on Sept 30, 2008 6:52:09 GMT -5
Jon, date? The reporting would be standard newspaper fare for the sixties, but would be comical a decade or so later.
" ... the Windjammers writhes and shakes up on a stage." The folk group?
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Post by jon hynes on Sept 30, 2008 8:06:05 GMT -5
That was the year that was - 1966 -
Hullabaloo Dancers - sounds are too deafening
Windjammers, The folk group?
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Post by jon hynes on Oct 2, 2008 9:57:37 GMT -5
Kit you said you did the photos of the bands. Are you the one that did the photo for the Original Eric and the Chessmen?
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Post by stoney on Oct 3, 2008 13:45:51 GMT -5
Wow, this is the first time I've read this thread. It's GREAT!!!!!!! It makes me yearn for the white go-go boots I had back in the 60s.
My father played the drums in bands down in the valley during the 50s & 60s. He died in '68 at age 38 & I'd give anything to know about those bands, or at least their names. I know he played at Crossways in Ilion & at some bar that's between Ilion & Frankfort on the main drag that's also still there.
What were some more names of the bands you guys played with? You mentioned the Froggs, or was that just plain Frog?
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